Silhouette
An image in which the subject is rendered as a dark shape against a much brighter background.
Measured in
stops
In depth
A silhouette works by exposing for the background and letting the subject fall to black, so the picture depends entirely on outline. That means the shape must be immediately readable — a clean profile, separated limbs, no overlap with other dark elements — and any recognisable detail in the subject weakens rather than helps.
Examples in practice
Metering for the sky and dialling −2 EV reduces a figure on a ridge to a clean, readable outline.